


nobody compares to you

by connorstollit



Category: DCU, Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Coming Out, Confessions, M/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Underage Drinking, background snaibsel, dick does not know how to deal w jealousy, get-together, i love artemis, n i dont know how to tag, overly fluffy n cheesy short fic, spitfire best friends, the summary is ugly, wally's confused but he'll get there eventually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-07-24 12:51:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16175441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/connorstollit/pseuds/connorstollit
Summary: Dick was 15 when he decided that he hated Wally West and everything about his oblivious self. He was absolutely impossible, and Dick simply could not deal with it anymore. All his endearing "dude"s and his high-fives and his shit-eating grins and the way he'd always find a way to have his hands on Dick in one form or another.He was 16 years old when he felt the build-up of his feelings finally snap.There was nothing he could do to prevent it and he knew it. And it was Artemis Crock's fault.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hey this is my first work i'm ever posting just because i kind of like this and feel like it could actually go somewhere :)  
> let me know if u want me to continue it or whatever kjdkf i'm a rlly bad writer but i'm trying n i love birdflash a lot  
> also i don't mention any plot bc im a weak bitch so it probably doesnt fit into yj continuity or whatever but that's fine
> 
> also as u can probably tell i didn't have anyone read over this for mistakes so
> 
> (ps the title is just a song i like n it's stupid ik i'm just rlly bad at titles)

Dick hated being a teenager.

He was 13 when he declared it. He constantly felt like he was gonna explode. Especially when he saw Wally's stupid face with his stupid grin and his stupid eyes.

He was 14 when he declared that having a "crush" was the worst thing in the world. Which really meant something, coming from a kid constantly faced with violence and drugs and murder and countless other horrible things. But it wasn't a hard choice for him to pick that stupid feeling that flittered in his stomach every time he came into contact with a certain redhead over all the other stuff.

He was 15 when he decided that he _hated_ Wally West and everything about his oblivious self. He was absolutely impossible, and Dick simply could not deal with it anymore. All his endearing "dude"s and his high-fives and his shit-eating grins and the way he'd always find a way to have his hands on Dick in one form or another. And yet, nothing Dick ever did to reciprocate that contact could ever be seen to Wally as flirting, because they were just "bros"! And, of course, that's all they'll ever be.

He was 16 years old when he felt the build-up of his feelings finally _snap_.

There was nothing he could do to prevent it and he knew it. And it was Artemis Crock's fault.

Well, he liked to tell himself that, because if he didn't, then he'd have to admit to himself that it's his own fucking fault for catching feelings for his _straight_ best friend like a complete idiot.

But Artemis didn't help.

Dick couldn't seem to escape the way she and Wally share looks, and bump shoulders, and whisper in each other's ears shit that makes the other laugh. Every time he saw it, Dick felt like his stomach was turning inside out and it was just gonna flop around in his gut the longer he watched the pair until it eventually shot out his mouth.

They're dating, he thinks. Or, at least, they have a thing. He had suspected at first, but his denial had gotten him along well enough until M'gann talked to him about it.

"Have you seen them lately?" she whispered to Dick in the kitchen, as they watched Artemis and Wally laugh on the couch. "They totally have a thing. I kinda think he asked her out, but I'm too scared to pry," she had giggled, before looking up and immediately frowning with worry at Dick's face.

He knew he had looked beyond frustrated, so he responded to M'gann asking if he was okay with an abrupt "I have to go," before practically running out of the kitchen and to his quarters, where he managed to only kick the wall in anger once before collapsing on the bed and staring at the ceiling for an hour.

"A thing" is what M'gann called it. It made a feeling flare up in his chest and burn relentlessly. The word 'jealousy' came to his mind, and he wanted so badly to push it away and to deny it, because he should be over Wally by now. It's been almost 3 years since he had realized his feelings, and that was _more_ than enough time to get over a stupid crush. Wally should be allowed to date who he wants without causing Dick to have an internal panic attack.

He finds himself lashing out. It's subtle at first, just sharp answers and excessive eye rolls. He's shut off. Wally, of course, doesn't notice something is up, and therefore also doesn't realize that Dick is only acting up when he's with Artemis. When it's just the two boys, Dick's back to his normal self.

But then it starts to escalate. He begins to outright ignore Wally. He'll scoff at his jokes, and send glares his way, all the while internally screaming at himself to stop, because _Wally didn't do anything wrong_. He knew he was being a complete asshole, he hated himself for it, but the feeling in his chest _wouldn't stop burning_.

One day, Wally notices. Dick had walked right past him when he had looked up from his conversation with Artemis to say hey, and Wally seemed to have snapped. He shot to his feet.

"Okay, dude, I've had enough," he declared, and Dick stopped in his tracks before turning around to look at him with narrowed eyes and crossed arms.

"Of what, may I ask?" he responded, before suddenly regretting how mocking his tone sounded. Oh well, can't take it back now.

Wally's eye twitched. He was silent for a few moments, before he outright yelled, "What the hell is your problem?"

Dick flared with anger. _That's all he gets?_ A year ago, Wally would've pulled him aside and asked him what was wrong. Because Dick only acts like this when something's up, but apparently that information was booted out of Wally's brain now that all the new stuff about Artemis was in there.

_Okay, that was a little cruel_.

"I don't have a problem," he stated, tilting his chin up, almost challengingly.

Wally fumed. "Uh, _yeah_ , you do! Would you just stop acting like a complete dick already?" he asked, and Artemis shot to her feet.

"Wally, _stop_ ," she demanded, glaring at him.

"No, Wally, _keep going_ ," Dick contradicted, smiling with no humor.

Artemis turned her glare on him. "Shut. Up," she stated.

Dick huffed and walked away, hearing the beginnings of an argument between the supposed happy couple. For some reason, the thought of them fighting didn't make him feel as satisfied as he thought it would have. He guessed he just loved them both too much to be happy about either of them being upset, even if it was with each other.

He closed himself in his quarters until Batman called to assign the mission.

-

Artemis was _tired_.

Boys were stupid. And, yeah, she had known this for a long time now, but being surrounded with their stupidity almost constantly left her exhausted. Wally wouldn't stop pouting and grumbling, and every time Artemis saw Dick he said nothing that wasn't work-related and outright ignored all Wally's glare attempts.

It was strange, watching it all happen. It seemed as if she knew exactly what was going on, but neither of them did. She thought it was quite obvious; Dick was into Wally, and he was uncomfortable with the way Wally was growing close with Artemis.

She didn't blame him -it did kind of look like they were dating. But they _weren't_. And she wasn't planning on starting. She just wasn't into him. At least, not in the way she was into Zatanna. Yet Zatanna seemed to have a thing for Dick.

They were stuck in a weird sort of love square, and Artemis didn't think any one of them liked it.

And there was only one part of it she could try to fix.

"Wally, you're an idiot," she dead-panned, smacking him over the head and sinking into the couch beside him.

He didn't even look away from the TV, his tongue peeking out between his lips as he jammed away at his controller. "Yeah," he agreed. "What'd I do, though?"

Artemis grabbed the controller out of his hands, and his video game character almost immediately died on the screen.

" _Not coo_ l," he grumbled, reluctantly turning towards her as she muted the screen.

He frowned at her sharp look, but she didn't soften it. "You need to talk to Dick," she said.

He let out a guttural groan, flopping back into the couch and putting his hands over his face. "I don't _wanna_ ," he complained.

"You _need_ to," Artemis repeated. "You're both being stupid, but you especially."

"He doesn't _want_ to talk to me, Arty. If he did, he would have already." Wally's hands dragged down his face and fell into his lap unceremoniously.

"Well, did you give him a chance?"

"What?"

"Did you ask him what was wrong?"

Wally rolled his eyes as if this was a stupid question. "Yeah. You know this, you were there," he stated.

"When?" she asked. "All I remember is you _yelling_ at him and demanding -what was it? ' _What the hell is your problem?_ '"

Wally huffed in response. "Look. When he wants to talk to me about something, he does. That's how it's always bee—"

"But that doesn't mean that it always has to be like that!" Artemis cut in. "You need to show him that you care enough to know when something's bothering him, and that you care enough to ask. Because you're concerned. You are," she added the last part with a punch to his shoulder when he looked like he wanted to protest.

"Ow!" He gripped his arm.

Artemis narrowed her eyes. "Admit I'm right," she demanded.

"But you're no—"

" _Admit_. I'm _right_."

Wally groaned. "Fine! You're right! I'm worried! Of _course_ I'm concerned!" He dropped his face into his hands again. "I just want him to be all right. And. . . I want to be his friend again. I want to be with him, making sure he's all right. But, of course," he looked up with a bitter smile, "you already knew this."

Artemis nodded knowingly. "Yeah. I know you two. And I know neither of you are gonna be happy until you suck it up and talk." She looked at Wally.

He looked back, before looking down in resignation. "Yeah," he muttered.

"You're both pussies," she added, just because. He smacked her and she laughed, before grabbing both controllers and tossing him one. "Come on. I can kick your ass without feeling bad about your constant moping now," she grinned, and luckily, got a grin back.

-

Wally was nervous.

Too nervous, he kept telling himself, he was only talking to Dick. He'd been talking to Dick for the majority of his life. But this just seemed so scary and different —like it could change everything if he fucked it up. Which, it probably could, but it didn't help to tell himself that.

Artemis' non-stop reminders weren't helping either. They just made him feel pressured and guilty. Every time Dick walked into a room she'd shoot Wally laser glares trying to get him to say something. He ignored her.

And then one night came, it was a Thursday, but school was off the next day. Wally had been laying in bed since he got home, doing nothing and praying the cave would call or Barry would call or someone would call so he could have a reason to get off his ass and not think about his problems. No one called, unsurprisingly.

And at about 5 pm, he sent the first text to Dick.

_Hey can we talk??_

And the torture ensued, as he laid around some more, checking his phone every two seconds and just waiting. He eventually went downstairs because of hunger, but his parents were both working so no dinner was made. He ended up just snacking on nearly everything in the pantry.

At 8:13 pm, he sent the next text.

_hello????_

He wasn't sure if he was being ignored or not, and the thought of Dick seeing these and not responding pissed him off a lot. Which was stupid, because he knew Dick had every reason not to respond to him.

And then, at 8:52 pm, Wally gave up waiting, because he was being driven up the walls in anxiety and impatience.

_I'm coming over_

He waited a few more minutes to see if Dick would respond this time, but nothing came. He sped over to Gotham, rain sprinkling down.

He knocked on the manor door, and almost as soon as he did, the rain came crashing down hard. Wally tried to step closer to the house, but there wasn't enough coverage from above and he felt his back get soaked.

The door opened and warm yellow light shone into the rainy night. Wally quickly stepped inside, without invitation. Which, in hindsight, was probably a really dangerous thing to do, considering who's house he was barging into, but at the time all he could think about was getting out of the freezing rain.

Luckily, no one beat him up. All he got was Alfred's disapproving glares as Wally dripped on his carpet.

"Hey, uh, sorry Alfred," Wally apologized awkwardly, pushing his wet hair back. "Is, um. Is Dick home?"

Alfred didn't look surprised. "He is on the third-floor balcony," he replied dryly.

Wally muttered a grateful thanks, but as he turned to go upstairs, he was stopped.

" _Master Wally_. Your shoes, please," Alfred said, motioning down to Wally's sneakers which were squishing with water.

"Right. Sorry," Wally said sheepishly, toeing off the shoes and leaving them neatly by the door. He and Alfred exchanged nods as he then passed and dashed up the stairs.

He knew the way to the balcony all too well —it was where Dick and he used to spend time together all the time. They'd bring blankets and curl up on the outdoor couch and watch a movie on Dick's laptop, or look at the stars, or just hang out. It made Wally feel sickeningly nostalgic. He approached the door to the balcony.

He saw Dick through the door, sitting on the couch with his bare feet out in front of him, propped up on top of the railing. There was a ceiling to the balcony, blocking the rain, but Wally suspected his feet and legs were getting splashed. He opened the door, Dick didn't turn. So he cleared his throat and said a somewhat awkward "Hey," that came out only slightly shakier than he had hoped.

Dick whipped around, and the throw pillow he had been hugging dropped to his side. His eyes were wide in surprise, and Wally felt his breath catch because he couldn't even remember the last time he saw Dick's eyes uncovered. Dick blinked. "Um. Hey. What are you doing here?" he questioned, regaining his composure and tugging the pillow slowly back into his arms. He turned back towards the rain, so Wally took that as his cue to close to the door behind him and go sit.

"Uh, sorry, I, um, texted you. But you didn't respond," he said, scratching the back of his neck as he lowered himself into the couch. God, he wished the couch was bigger, there were only a few inches between them. He also wished the rain would let up, for the downpour made him have to talk louder to be heard.

Dick shifted, still looking out. It wasn't exactly the best view, in Wally's opinion. Just some trees. The road in the front of the manor could be seen stretching out, but there were few cars and the streetlights looked hazy through the rain. "Yeah, sorry, I left both my phone and watch in my room earlier today," Dick said, having Wally wondering just how long he'd been out here. He didn't even realize how long he'd been silent for until Dick spoke again. "So, did you need something?"

Wally gulped. "Yeah," he said lightly. Too lightly. Dick raised an eyebrow at him. He cleared his throat again and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. _Why were they sweaty? This wasn't that big of a deal, not compared to the life or death situations he was put in almost daily_. "Yeah," Wally repeated, louder. "I just, um. . ." He hesitated. How the hell was he supposed to word this? "I wanted to talk to you."

_Too vague._

"About us."

_Too intense_.

"And, um, just. What's going on between us, you know?" He glanced up from his fiddling hands to give Dick a nervous look, only to find he was already looking back at him with a seemingly blank face. And if Wally didn't know him so well, he wouldn't have been able to detect the subtle amount of amusement in his eyes. But he did.

Dick nodded expectantly. "Okay," he said and didn't continue. He was obviously waiting for Wally to talk first, and Wally wished he had planned out his thoughts better. It wasn't like he hadn't been waiting for this moment for weeks or anything.

"I never actually asked you," he started, wringing his hands, and then realized he was wringing his hands and stopped, a little too abruptly. "If you were okay. And that was. . . pretty bitchy of me." Dick scoffed, but he still sounded slightly amused, so Wally continued. "And I'm sorry. But. I'm. . . Are you? Okay, I mean?" They stared at each other for a moment, and Wally could hear his own heart pounding in his chest, and Dick's attentive stare was not helping that. "Because I want to know. I want you to tell me if something's wrong. I want to be there for you, and try to help in whatever way I can." Dick's expression turned a little softer. But there were still no words rushing to his mouth, so Wally tried to keep going. "Especially if I'm part of what's wrong. I want to know if I hurt you or annoyed you or upset you or whatever-- because I never wanted to do any of that to you, and if I did, I want to fix it because you mean a lot to me, more than almost anyone, and these past couple weeks have been really horrible for me, because even though I knew I was the problem, or at least part of it, I'm also stubborn and couldn't force myself to just push my feelings aside, no matter how petty they were, and no matter how much I just wanted to be with you again--"

"Wally," Dick cut in harshly, and Wally gasped in a breath of air, having not realized he had talked himself out of breath. He breathed out shakily and quietly apologized.

Dick was quiet for a while longer, his elbows resting on his knees as he leaned forward and his hands clasped together. His gaze was on the ground, and the longer he stayed silent the more the pounding of the rain felt like ringing in Wally's ears. And finally - _finally_ , he spoke.

"I'm not upset with you," Dick declared. Wally couldn't help the little sigh of relief that left his lips, and was thankful the rain was too loud for it to be heard.

He gave himself a moment to think and watched Dick shift uncomfortably. "Okay. . ." he started, and their gazes met. "But you _are_ upset, then?" Wally spoke the question in the softest way possible, but Dick's eyes immediately flicked back down.

"Not with you," he repeated, wringing his hands.

"You said that already," Wally said matter-of-factly, sitting forward. Despite it not being returned, his gaze stayed steadily on the other boy.

Dick took a long, shaky breath. "I know, I just," he paused, his eyes squeezing shut momentarily. "I took it out on you and that wasn't fair whatsoever because you. . . didn't do anything wrong." He said the last words in a tight voice, his knuckles white as he gripped his knees.

Wally desperately tried to meet his eyes, but Dick wasn't having it. He tilted his head slightly away. "Who are you upset with?" Wally asked softly, his mind buzzing with both curiosity and confusion.

The next silence stretched for so long that Wally found himself finally looking away and outwards, and he had to stop his foot from impatiently tapping more than once. His stomach was in knots, he was so nervous. It had eased after Dick told him he wasn't upset with him, but now it was raging even worse than before with how he was acting about answering this. Wally didn't want to push him, and he knew this was in no way about himself, but he felt like he might actually combust if he didn't say anything within the next few seconds. He opened his mouth to say something, but _so luckily_ , Dick beat him to it.

"Myself mostly, I guess," he said before pausing, and Wally's hands were in fists. He wanted to ask why, he wanted to tell him that he did nothing wrong and he shouldn't be mad at himself, and all these responses were leaping to his throat in an attempt to get out. He pushed them down, knowing Dick was gonna continue. And he did. His voice was hoarse when he spoke next. "One of the things Batman taught me. . . was how to control my emotions well. So the bad guys can't see if they get to me, or I won't act out if something un-job-related is affecting me, or whatever. You get it. And I can normally easily apply that to real life, but. . . I haven't been able to do that recently, and it's stupid, but. . ." His eyes squeezed shut once again, and his mouth was pressed into a line. For a second, Wally thought he might cry, but there were no tears. "It's just," he started again, his tone seeping pain, "Whenever I see you and Artemis together it just brings out this anger that I can't tame even though I've tried, I've tried so hard because I didn't want to make you feel like I was mad at you for being with her because you didn't do anything wrong, yet I was an idiot anyways and was an ass towards you, and you don't deserve that." He stopped to take a deep breath in. Then, when Wally said nothing, he shakily added, "I can officially say that jealousy is a really, _really_ ugly color on me."

Wally was frozen. He was _jealous_? That didn't make any sense. . . he hadn't even considered the possibility of Dick liking Artemis. He had thought about it once, a long time ago, and never again, because the thought had been almost laughable. At the time, at least. Yet here Dick was now, admitting that he was jealous of Wally and Artemis' growing closeness.

Wally's mind felt like it was being fried with how desperately he was trying to make sense of this revelation. He hadn't even realized how long he'd been silent until a loud crack of thunder made both boys jump in their seats. He clutched his chest from the scare, and looking down, finally cleared his throat to talk. " Okay, so. . ." he trailed off and chided himself for being so inarticulate all the time. His mind started grasping at words and he forced them out of his mouth ineloquently just so he could say _something_. "You like Artemis, and since I'm-"

" _No_ , Wally," Dick cut in. His voice was still shaking. Wally looked at him with eyes full of anxiousness and confusion. _What did he mean no?_ Dick clenched his jaw.

"I like _you_."

_Oh._

_Oh!_

_Oh my god!_

"Oh," he said, like a complete dumbass.

Dick sat back finally, crossing his arms over his chest, but his gaze was locked out ahead of him, and his face was tense and angry and worried. "Yeah," he said, his bitterness not subtle. "' _Oh_.'"

"No!" Wally exclaimed, even though he didn't know what he was going to say. He just didn't want Dick to be sad. Not about _this_. "No, I didn't mean 'oh' like a bad oh, not like 'oh, that sucks,' that's not what I meant —I mean, it kinda does suck, but only 'cause it sucks for you that you like someone as shitty as me when I literally cannot even form a coherent sentence and just, like, _speak_ , y' know? Like, I'm—"

"Stop," Dick cut in sharply, looking at him with narrowed eyes. "You're not shitty, and you're not helping," he stated. Wally blinked. "I don't need to listen to you talk bad about yourself when I already know how amazing you are, okay? That's not —it's not. . ." he trailed off, sighing. "I like you, and there's no talking me out of these feelings. Trust me, _I've tried_ , and I haven't succeeded, so you telling me it sucks that you suck is really just. Not helping." He sounded exhausted.

Wally cleared his throat. "Um. Why, um. Why did you try to talk yourself out of your feelings? For me?" he asked quietly, fiddling his thumbs. He wasn't sure why that was the part of that that bothered him, but it kind of stung.

Dick sighed dramatically, waving his hands. "I dunno, Wally, maybe because I realized I had fallen for my best friend? Who's into girls, nonetheless? It wasn't hard to tell that my feelings for you would do nothing but _ruin_ , and that's not what I wanted. At all. Because I care about you a lot, and I just. . . I don't want to lose you."

He sat up and turned his body towards Wally a little more, who, once again, had no idea what to say, his heart pounding in his chest so loudly he thought it might burst out. Dick's face got a more serious look on it.

"I know this is weird. I do," he said softly, eyes pleading. "And I know it's a lot to take in, because you didn't even know I liked _boys_ , let alone _you_. And I mean —if an official coming out will make you feel any better about how fucked up this is —I'm gay." He paused again, eyes searching Wally's face for an emotion. Wally knew he looked shocked, but he didn't know what else to feel. The fluttering in his stomach suggested a few options, but he pushed them down. Dick continued. "This is gonna change things, no matter how much I don't want it to, but I don't want this to ruin our friendship, you know? Just. . . let me know if you have, like, an issue with it, or something now. I don't. . . wanna waste time on something I can't fix." He looked pained.

Wally didn't know what to say. He felt so confused, and Dick's words were replaying in his mind over and over and yet he couldn't make sense of them. He looked down and rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his hands, trying to get his brain to work properly.

"I don't," he finally managed, and he thought he saw Dick flinch. "I don't have any problems with it." Wally didn't know what he felt, but it wasn't something like that. "I would never have any problems with who you are," he added, and then screamed at himself because _that didn't make sense_. He looked over at Dick, worried he just fucked up, but was pleasantly surprised.

Dick was blushing. Just outright blushing, his cheeks flushed and his lips quirked in a relieved smile as he glanced down. Wally's heart leaped into his throat.

"Thank you," Dick said so quietly, it was almost a whisper, but the rain had let up a little so Wally could still hear

"You don't have anything to thank me for," he responded, and Wally had to stop himself from reaching out and putting his hand on Dick's knee. That used to always be his gesture of comfort, but it suddenly felt different. "Thank _you_. For telling me. And trusting me. It means a lot," he added, his voice unceremoniously cracking when Dick looked up at him with wide, shining eyes.

"I. . ." Dick started, voice weak, but seemed to give up after that and launched a hug on Wally, who caught him with eased practice. He wrapped his arms around him and squeezed, breathing in his scent.

"God, I missed you so much," Wally mumbled into Dick's shoulder. His heart was still leaping, but now it was in the way he had become comfortable with over the years. It was the "Dick is my best friend and that's the dance he makes my heart do" leap and not the "I feel like I'm about to throw up because I don't know what to do" leap.

Wally spent that night at the manor, trying not to think about how he never actually addressed Dick's feelings for him, let alone his own feelings.

And he knew it was because he was _way_ too scared to do so.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally though that things were fine, normal. And they were. Until they weren't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is kind of a mess and extremely rushed and i didn't really read over it before i posted it lol but yall asked for a get-together part so! here's this disaster. i got ideas from legends of tomorrow btw, how wally drinks rocket fuel to get fucked up
> 
> (warning: underage drinking! i've drank before but this is still like really uneducated and vague)  
> (another warning: this is.. roughly ooc)

Dick hadn't been wrong. That night did make things weird. After Wally went home the morning after, it wasn't like it was before.

They were more distant. Texting wasn't really common —at least not casually. Their smiles towards each other when they met up at the cave were shy and nervous.

Wally had had to talk to Artemis about it, but he refused to tell her everything. It wasn't his place to tell, after all. He wasn't really worried about it though, because he suspected Artemis already knew, and Dick would come out to the rest of the team eventually.

As months passed, they slowly started to become more comfortable with each other again. Wally was relieved, he really had missed Dick and the way they used to be. He was in college now, and was less involved with the team and only called in when really needed, which was something Dick and him had discussed long ago. They'd stay close, even if that happened.

Wally felt a warm sort of satisfaction knowing that that was still sort of true.

He thought that things were fine, normal. And they were. Until they weren't.

"Heyo," Wally said in a sing-song voice, announcing his presence as he entered the Cave's kitchen.

Dick, Artemis, and Zatanna glanced over at the sound of his voice. "Hey," the latter two responded, and Dick stood up straight and turned from where he had been leaned over the counter.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, sounding mildly surprised. His glasses were off, which was still a sight that Wally was adjusting to seeing at the cave. Due to Artemis and Zatanna knowing his identity now, he was free to keep it off. Wally tried to ignore the little ping of pain in his chest, knowing that now he wasn't the only one who got to see Dick with no boundaries. That was selfish of him to feel, but can you blame him? It had always given him a feeling of specialness, and now that was gone.

Wally brought his hand up to touch Dick's shoulder lightly as he passed, heading to the fridge. He'd become a lot more conscious about how he touched his best friend after the confession, and while Dick kept his hands mostly to himself now, Wally couldn't help but let his hands linger and drag where they probably shouldn't. Was that normal? He hoped Dick either didn't notice or didn't care, because Wally couldn't seem to stop.

"What," he started, opening the fridge door to be greeted with the beautiful sight of snacks galore. Looks like the Bat-mom had done some grocery shopping. "I can't just stop by to see my magnificent friends anymore?"

He looked over his shoulder with a smirk to see Dick roll his eyes. "As if you aren't just here for the food," he replied simply.

Wally grabbed a container of what looked like pizza leftovers and returned to the counter. "Yeah, the food," he agreed. "And  _you_ , of course." Dick elbowed him in the side, which was a valid response to the teasing smile Wally had displayed, and Wally grunted but laughed.

He looked up from his pizza to notice Artemis and Zatanna's confused gazes on them, watching carefully. Artemis raised her eyebrow at him, and he sent her a glare back. One that clearly read ' _don't you_  dare _say anything_.'

Yet Wally watched with growing dread as the blonde opened her mouth. "Fellas," she said, turning to Zee, "is this het activity?"

Dick immediately froze beside Wally, and the latter tried to ignore the way Dick had leaned the slightest bit away, whether on purpose or not.

"It is not," Zatanna declared, with a pointed look at Wally, " _fellas_."

Wally ignored the way his face burned hot at that sentence and didn't look at Dick, who shifted uncomfortably beside him. His mind started screaming at him to  _change the subject change the subject change the subjectchangethesub--_

"Say the girls holding hands under the counter," he replied and cursed himself because that was hardly changing the subject. All it did was give both girls plenty of reason to continue teasing them.

Yet Artemis' hand immediately shot up onto the counter, settling awkwardly beside her plate of macaroni. She coughed. "Dick, don't you have something to give Wally or something?" she said, super un-smoothly, and Zatanna made a face. "Since you haven't shut up about it." The addition was a low blow, and Dick glared before turning to Wally.

"Yeah, I do," he said, reaching for his back pocket. "It's an early birthday present," he explained, and Wally's heart thumped loudly in his chest. He knew it couldn't be too personal, considering he was giving it to him in front of other people, but his heart didn't seem to care about that.

"Oh?" Wally said lamely.

"I know we can't celebrate on the actual day since you have school and stuff, but I figured just the team could throw you a little something this weekend, if you want," he said, not looking at Wally. "'Cause I got you this." He revealed the gift from behind him. It was...

A flask.

"Huh?" Wally asked because he was honestly so confused. Everyone knew drinking did nothing for him because of his super speed metabolism.

"Wait for it..." Zatanna supplied, unhelpfully.

"It's not regular alcohol," Dick said and looked him in the eye finally. "Babs and I looked into finding something that actually would affect you the way alcohol affects us, and. . . well, it's rocket fuel."

Wally blinked. "Huh?" he repeated, because ' _rocket fuel_?'

Dick chuckled. "It's okay if you don't want to drink it, but it's your birthday and I figured you deserved a way to let loose. This will. . . fuck you up, to put it nicely." He was grinning as Wally took the flask.

But he was still hesitant. "Fuck up, like, my organs?" he questioned.

"No!" Dick said hurriedly. "Fuck you up as in get you super drunk. I'm not gonna give you something that'll fuck up your organs, dude, Babs made it so it won't. Don't you trust me?" he said, and well, when he put it that way Wally kind of couldn't say no.

Also, if Dick was right about this, Wally was  _extremely_ excited.

He breathed out, turning the object in his hand to feel the liquid slosh around inside. "This is the greatest gift anyone has ever gotten me," he stated plainly, and Dick punched him in the arm.

"Stop," he said, smiling.

"You just saved my life, my skin is clear, my crops are thriving—"

"Wally—"

"—Depression is  _cured_ , I'm literally in love with you—"

" _Wally_ ," Dick said again, stopping him, which was probably good, considering that the last statement had a lot more meaning that he meant.

Ignoring that fact, though, he hugged Dick. The boy tensed but quickly hugged him back before pulling away. "I'm glad you like it," he said, almost shyly, and he was still grinning, and— was that a blush?

Before Wally could think anything else about it, Artemis and Zatanna cut in, whooping.

"This weekend is about to be lit as  _fuck!_ " Zatanna exclaimed, and Wally wished she hadn't just used the word 'lit.'

But he couldn't help but join in on their excitement.

"Hope you can handle your booze, West," Artemis said with an eyebrow raise.

He scoffed. " _Please_ ," he responded as if he had any experience in this area at all. "There's no way I can't outdrink you."

"Oh?" Artemis asked, sitting upright. "Oh?  _Oh_?" She looked at Zatanna, and then Dick, and then back at Wally. "Is this a challenge I hear?"

Dick immediately cut in. "Okay, hold on, maybe a challenge isn't the best ide—"

"Hell yeah, it is," Wally said to Artemis instead.

"Wally, you're gonna die," Dick said simply. "Do you know how much Artemis can drink?" Artemis grinned at that.

"Not as much as me," he said, smugly, though he had no idea what he was talking about.

Dick sighed and put his head in his hands, but he was smiling.

"WE'RE GONNA DO SHOTS!" Zatanna shouted, and Artemis and Wally yelled back in approval.

It was quickly cut off by Kaldur coming on the intercom, telling them to report to the mission room.

"To be continued this weekend, West," Artemis said, and she and Zatanna exited with Wally and Dick on their heels.

But "Hey," Wally said softly, and Dick stopped. He turned and raised his eyebrows. "Thank you." Did his voice sound as soft to Dick as it did to himself?

"Don't mention it," Dick responded, looking down. He was blushing again, and this time Wally was sure of it. "Not even my only gift."

Warmth bloomed in Wally's chest at his shy smile, and he wanted to hug him again. But he knew he shouldn't. Because wasn't that too much touching? "Have I mentioned you're the best friend anyone has ever had in the history of ever?" he said, keeping his hands to himself instead.

Doubt flickered momentarily in Dick's eyes before he punched Wally's arm again. "A few times," he said, shrugging cockily. "I love having the ability to buy your friendship."

Wally laughed and pushed him back towards the doorway. "C'mon," he chuckled, and they went, leaving Wally's pizza forgotten on the counter.

-

"Dick, you remember the other day when I told you I was in love with you?"

"... Yeah?"

"I meant it," Wally breathed, before falling back onto the couch and hugging a pillow to his chest. He barely even registered the weight of the words coming out of his own mouth, but Dick looked away.

He was quiet for a minute, which didn't make Wally as nervous as it probably should have because of the overwhelming noise of his teammates around them. "Glad you're having fun," Dick said eventually, giving him a smile, before turning back towards the table and downing three shots in quick succession.

"DAMN, Dick!" Artemis hollered, watching him from her perch on Zatanna's back with wide eyes.

"Relax," Dick replied, making a face and taking a big gulp of Sprite as a chaser (a weird chaser, if you ask Wally, but he hadn't been using it, so). "Those are my first of the night," he explained, which made Wally sit up.

He looked at his watch, waiting for the numbers to come into focus. "But it's 10:30," he said, and Dick looked at him. "We've been here for two hours."

Dick grinned lazily. "Had to wait for y'all to get super drunk before I did so I wouldn't embarrass myself too badly," he said, and Wally scoffed in mock offense.

"UNFAIR!" he shouted. Then he pulled out his phone. "Now you're gonna be videotaped the whole night so anything embarrassing you do  _will_  be caught and watched sober," he threatened, having too much difficulty pulling up his camera app.

Dick took one more shot and then stood up quickly, and the laziness of his grin made it clear the alcohol was getting to him.  _Finally_.

"Nice try, but I know you only have about 15 seconds worth of a video left in your phone storage," he said, smirking.

Right on time, the recording on Wally's phone halted and a  _Phone Storage Full_  message popped up. His jaw dropped, looking up at Dick with wide eyes.

"Are you..." he hesitated, "a psychic?"

Dick rolled his eyes. "No, I just know you."

Wally felt suspicious at that, for the timing of his words and the message had been extremely good. Had Dick been lying to them this whole time? Has he actually been able to read their minds and see the future? Is that how he knew Wally's storage was going to be full? Oh no— if he could really read Wally's mind, they had a  _lot_  they needed to discuss. Because drunk Wally hadn't exactly kept his thoughts PG rated tonight while watching Dick dance with Zatanna. This was so weird, oh my god, he was probably reading Wally's thoughts right now, this was so we—

"Wally," Dick cut in suddenly, and Wally forgot what he was thinking about. "May I have this dance?" he asked, bowing and holding his hand out.

Wally was kind of confused, considering he was pretty sure a Nicki Minaj song was currently playing and Dick was acting like they were about to slow dance, but Wally stood and bowed back anyways. "Of course, good sir," he said, taking Dick's hand. The way his heart fluttered at the contact was expected, but instead of filling him with a sense of awkwardness, as usual, he was only motivated to pull Dick close to him. Dick stumbled at the tug, catching himself with one hand on Wally's waist, and his eyes looked nervous as if realizing his invitation to dance had been a mistake.

Wally was feeling so loose and happy that he wasn't sure he was capable of experiencing any type of worry at the moment. And with Dick so close to him, why would he want to?

But Dick pulled his hand from Wally's waist as if it was burning hot, and instead of focusing on that Wally raised their intertwined hands above Dick's head and twirled him. He laughed and stumbled back into Wally's chest, and the unease was completely wiped from his face. Did the sound of his laugh always fill Wally with the warmth he was feeling at the moment? It was hard to believe that just a few months ago they weren't even talking to each other.

Wally was barely paying attention as Zatanna, Artemis, and M'gann kneeled at the coffee table and poured each of themselves another shot of the vodka. He wasn't watching as Kaldur sipped from his bottle, staring at the pair of boys with an amused smile. And he definitely didn't notice as Artemis tossed Connor her phone, who gladly caught it and began videoing the scene before him. Because he was only focused on Dick, and he was so caught up in a sense of powerful adoration that he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to focus on anything else again.

Dick was still grinning as they swayed, Wally swinging him out and then back into his chest with a light giggle. He realized how much he had missed this closeness between them because of Dick's reluctance to touch him ever since he confessed. Which was suddenly an extremely prominent thought in Wally's mind. He'd been trying not to think too much about it, since all it did was confuse him until he got nearly dizzy, but he was already kind of dizzy and now unable to stop the thoughts.

He wanted to say something as Dick smiled into Wally's shoulder, something like "Is it weird that I haven't been able to keep my hands off you since you told me how you felt?" or "You know, you told me that you liked me but I never told you how much I really like you back." or even just a plain, simple, "You look really beautiful right now."

Because he really did. His cheeks were flushed and his smile was bright and his eyes were very, very blue every time he glanced up at Wally. But Wally just couldn't say any of those things. He couldn't bring himself to blurt something he hadn't even let himself think about while sober. And he hoped to whatever god there was that he would keep that control all night, no matter how drunk he was because he didn't want to admit to feelings he wasn't even sure that he had.

But at that moment, he felt sure. Surer than he'd ever been about anything.

He still couldn't, though, even as Dick met his gaze strongly, ran his hand lightly down his arm and to his other hand. As his tongue darted out to wet his lips from smiling so much, and Wally just wanted to dip him and kiss him harder than he'd kissed anyone in his life--

And then there was a body jumping on his back, making him stagger away from Dick, and he couldn't remember what he was thinking about again, because Artemis was yelling in his ear.

"I won the challenge!" she declared triumphantly. "Con, record this too so he doesn't forget it in the morning." Connor, grinning, turned the camera away from a floundering Dick and onto Artemis and Wally, and the latter thought _oh, right, I had been thinking about kissing my best friend_. 

"Hello, world," Artemis was announcing, pointing at her own phone over Wally's shoulder. "On this day in history, May 14th--"

"It's November. How do you not know that-- it's literally my birthday?"

"--I outdrank Wally West, therefore  _winning_  our challenge just like I do them all!" Everyone except Wally raised their fists and shouted in excitement. Zatanna threw back another shot. 

Dick was laughing. "Arty, you're so drunk," he wheezed, before falling to his knees beside Zatanna. 

"You're the one slow-dancing to Super Bass and calling me 'Arty,' Grayson, so you're one to talk," she replied easily, sliding off Wally's back.

He stuck his tongue out at her.

The night continued on in a blur, and it all felt kind of hazy to Wally besides the presence of Dick by his side for the majority of the night. He opened presents, and at one point he was sure he was sobbing because he just loves his friends  _so much_  and they're so great and he didn't know what he'd do without them and this was the best birthday of his life. They had all hugged him at that, Wally distinctly remembering the strong smell of alcohol and sweat. There was a lot more dancing, and the breaking of a lamp, and Kaldur sung the entirety of It's Gonna Be Me by NSYNC.

Then there were a lot more things that were almost completely blurred, and then Wally woke up.

Naked, in Dick's bed.

He sat up abruptly when opening his eyes caused him to be met with the sight of his best friend asleep, shirtless, beside him. And then proceeded to freak out. The clock read 11:15 a.m.

His clothes were on the floor beside the bed, but his boxers were still on, which he couldn't help but thank the heavens for. He kind of couldn't breathe, because  _what the fuck happened last night_? He found himself wishing that he never drank in the first place-- he should have just stayed home and not done this, stayed sober and in his dorm room where it's safe and he didn't have to worry about getting so drunk that he hooked up with Dick and didn't even remember it. Why didn't he remember it? He should fucking remember that. Dick's going to hate him, oh my god, he slept with him and didn't even remember that it happened, he ruined everything. Not only did he reveal his feelings, but he did it on accident and probably embarrassed himself _so badly_  because of how incapacitated he was, and--

"Wall?" Dick's voice was gravelly and sent shivers down Wally's spine. He wished he didn't like the sound of his morning voice so much.

Wally calmed his breathing and stood shakily to begin pulling his pants on. "Yeah," he said quietly. "It's me."

He silently hoped that Dick's confusion meant that he didn't remember it either, and they could go on pretending this never happened and Wally could live a quiet, peaceful life, after he graduates from college, gets his dream job, and  _doesn't_  get murdered by Batman himself for fucking his son. 

But "Yeah, I know," Dick mutters instead. Then rolling face-down into the pillow with a groan, he adds, "My fucking  _head_."

Wally realized that he didn't have a hangover, and figured he had his metabolism to blame for that. Thankfully.

"You.." Wally started but hesitated. He should just run, get out of here while he still can and hide completely from his problems. But Dick looked so good laying there, his arm visibly flexing as he reached up to pull the pillow over his bedhead, and Wally couldn't help himself. "You want some Advil?" he asked quietly.

"Please," Dick breathed, muffled.

And Wally ran. To the kitchen, where he got the bottle of Advil out of the pantry and filled a glass of water, then he ran more. He got all the way to San Diego before turning around and returning all the way across the country and to the counter. He closed his eyes and breathed, trying not to freak out completely. He thought that the running would help, but it just left him feeling even more tired than before and deathly hungry. The fridge looked so inviting, still probably stocked up with snacks and leftovers, but Dick was waiting. He picked up the glass and bottle with shaky hands and quickly returned to Dick's bedroom.

"What took you so long?" Dick grumbled, sitting up. Wally glanced at the clock. 11:23. It had been 4 minutes. But he figured that was nearly forever when it probably should have taken less than 10 seconds. 

Wally picked Dick's hand up, since he was acting nearly dead, and tried not to let his shakiness show as he put two Advils in his palm and then the glass of water. "Sorry," he said. "Couldn't find the Advil." That was an obvious lie, but Dick didn't seem to process it. He took the pills and then chugged the entire glass of water, which Wally wasn't sure if that was good or not.

They sat in silence for a while once Wally perched hesitantly on the edge of the bed, his back to Dick. The man was breathing quietly behind him, and Wally's mind was moving so fast he could hardly keep up.

He didn't even know if they hooked up or not. There was no reason to completely lose it yet. Maybe nothing happened and he could still live the rest of his life without being killed by Bruce.

But... they were both shirtless, and Wally had been  _really_  drunk, for the first time ever nonetheless. He didn't know what he would have done. Or what Dick would have let him do.

Wally flinched as Dick shifted behind him, and then he was sliding off the bed beside him to grab his shirt off the floor. He looked tired.

"Dick," Wally said before he could stop himself. He squeezed his eyes shut when Dick looked at him in question. Just ask, his mind told him. It doesn't matter how disastrously it ends because above all else, he just had to know. "Did we...?" He didn't know how to put it into words, so he just made an extremely vague gesture with his hands. "You know?" he added, glancing at Dick, who looked extremely confused.

"I don't know," Dick said, blinking. He hadn't put his shirt on yet, and he looked near-godly. Wally knew he shouldn't think that, considering Dick had just woken up and was extremely hungover and had just gotten super fucked up (maybe even  _fucked_ ) the previous night, but he couldn't help it. Dick just looked really good all the time.

"You know..." Wally continued, but Dick really didn't know what he was talking about. He blinked again.

Wally took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a second, then rushed it all out at once. "Didwehookup?" His voice sounded weirdly high-pitched.

There was silence. A lot of silence. A silence that dragged out for so long that Wally peeked his eyes open to check if Dick had fallen back asleep sitting up. He hadn't. He was staring at Wally with wide eyes, face painted with intense hurt. He was scowling as if he couldn't believe what Wally had just said. 

He was about to say something else, just to break the silence, but then Dick was on his feet and  _yelling_.

"Did we  _'hook up?'_  Wally, are you being serious right now?" he practically seethed. He whipped around and fixed him with a fierce look of both betrayal and anger. 

Wally knew he had a right to be hurt, especially if they had hooked up and he still had to ask this question. But he didn't remember, and it wasn't his fault that he didn't remember, but he really didn't want Dick to keep looking at him like that. 

"Um..." he said lightly, his voice hoarse. "Yes?"

Dick nearly shouted in frustration, turning away. He gripped his head immediately after, but Wally wasn't sure if it was because of his hangover or if he was just that mad. He paced a little, and for a second Wally thought he was going to punch right through the wall. But then he stopped, looked back at Wally, and glared. "You really think I would do that?" he asked, quieter, and the hurt in his voice was extremely prominent. 

Wally blinked.  _What?_ But Dick wasn't done.

"You really think I would just-- just  _take advantage of you_  like that?" he growled, making Wally even more confused. "I don't give a fuck how drunk I am-- how drunk  _you_  are, I wouldn't fucking do that, Wally! No, you-- you followed me to my bedroom, took off your clothes and then passed out beside me. We didn't-- we  _didn't_. I get it, okay, I told you I have feelings for you and it freaked you out, but that does not get you a free pass on really thinking that I would just. I would just get you drunk and have sex with you! I'm not going to use you and take advantage of you being incapacitated just to get off, Wally, how low do you think of me to think that I would do that to you?" He was really, really mad, and he was about to keep going, but Wally stood up and held his hands out.

"No!" he cut in, and Dick glared at him. "No, Dick-- no, that's not what I mean  _at all_ ," he said because it really wasn't. He never thought for a second that that was what happened, as if Dick would  _ever_  do that to anyone.

Dick blinked, his scowl still staring Wally down heatedly. "Then what the fuck  _did_  you mean, man?" he fumed.

"It wasn't--" Wally stopped himself and looked away. He became fully aware of what he was about to reveal, but he knew that he had to do it to get Dick to stop looking at him like that. He'd do _anything_  to get Dick to stop looking at him like that. He sucked in a really long breath and braced himself, then opened his mouth. "It wasn't you who I thought had...  _initiated_  anything."

Did that make sense? Was it too vague?

Dick was quiet for a moment and Wally met his confused gaze with a worried one. Dick swallowed. "What are you..." his voice was quiet. "What are you saying?"

And Wally spilled. "I'm saying that I was majorly stressing about me initiating something like that with you, not the other way around. It's just been on my mind so fucking much lately, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it, and I was so worried that I would have drunk a bit too much and done something like... like  _that_."

Dick was looking at him like he'd grown another head. They were quiet for a few more beats before Dick's eyes narrowed almost threateningly. "So you're saying that... that if you had drunk too much you would have fucked me?" The last words hit Wally in the chest like a punch. That was... quite a vulgar way of putting it, especially after all Wally's attempts to not say something like that in this conversation, but... but Dick was right. 

"Yeah," Wally said, looking down. "Yeah, I guess I am." He felt his face burn in embarrassment at that confession, because with that also came the realization that he'd kind of just admitted that he hadn't been able to stop thinking about fucking Dick. God, could this be going literally any worse? Wally hadn't let himself think about his feelings for Dick, and now it was all rushing to the surface and out into the open in the least graceful way he could have possibly imagined.

Dick was looking at him with a calculating gaze. His head cocked slightly, and his fists un-balled at his sides. The stone glare became less of a glare and more of a soft stare, which Wally was very thankful for because he had begun to feel like he would melt if that look had been directed at him for any longer. Then he glanced away and took a deep breath, Wally watching as his chest rose and fell.

"Okay, so," he began, looking very confused as he still tried to wrap his head around this, "I told you that I had feelings for you, but you couldn't tell me that you wanted to fuck me?" he asked as if it was simple. As if it was anything near simple, as if Wally's mind wasn't currently combusting having to even think about this.

It wasn't simple at all. And it got him all the more worked up that Dick thought it was. 

"No," he said, and Dick raised his eyebrows. "No, it's not like that at all, it's so much more than that." His voice was practically a breath since Wally was feeling so completely drained by all of this. It wasn't even noon yet. Weren't confessions supposed to happen at night, when it's raining and romantic or something? Like Dick's had?

Dick swallowed again. "What do you mean?" he questioned.

"I mean that it's more than just sex that I want with you, Dick!" he kind of exploded, and didn't process the sound of the door opening until Artemis was halfway in the room with her jaw dropped.

"Uhhhhhh," she started, looking completely frozen. Dick had turned to stare at her as well, which kind of sucked because Wally wanted to know what face he was making after he just admitted that. 

All of this was coming out at the worst time, and he felt so frustrated that he could scream. So he screamed. "Get the fuck out of here, Artemis!" he shouted, obviously, because why the fuck was she still standing there?

She flinched and smiled awkwardly. "Right, yeah, I just-- do you guys have the Advil?" her voice was weak and she was obviously trying to ignore the tension in the room. 

Wally snatched the bottle off the bedside table and chucked it out the doorway, hearing it land and tumble further down the hallway. Artemis muttered a drawn-out 'thaaaanks" and exited, giving Wally a not-so-subtle thumbs up when she did.

"Jesus fucking--" Wally muttered, knowing Dick's eyes were on him as he sat back down on the bed and let his face drop into his hands. This literally could not be going worse and he knew it.

And then Dick approached and the bed dipped as he sat down beside him silently. Silently, so quietly, and Wally still wanted to scream some more which made it unbearable. He figured he should just say something to excuse himself and then go throw himself off the top of Mount Justice, because that would make everything easier, but then Dick was speaking again.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" he asked, and the earlier hurt seeped slightly back into his voice.

Wally breathed out and dragged his hands down his face, rubbing at his tired eyes before pushing his hair back. "Because I didn't know," he said, which was a lie, so he tried again. "Because I didn't  _realize_."

He looked over at Dick and immediately regretted it. Why were his eyes so fucking blue? They'd never been one of Wally's weak spots before, it had always been shit like his smile and his laugh and his hair and his arms and--

Basically everything about him, but his eyes had never been a huge thing. But now they really, really were, especially when they looked at Wally like  _that_. Wide and sad and confused, but filled with so much love and hope, and Wally just wanted to kiss him--

"You're really fucking oblivious sometimes, you know that?" Dick said suddenly, and Wally couldn't help but laugh.

He looked down, chuckling to himself. "You have  _no_  idea," he said.

"If  _I_  have no idea, after putting up with this for years, I have no idea what you must be feeling," Dick half-laughed, and it was a really good point. Dick had had to put up with so much of his ignorant bullshit, it was honestly surprising that he  _still_  continued to put up with it.

Wally smiled, but it faded quickly. He felt really guilty, for both not telling Dick (even though he knew he wouldn't have been able to if he tried) and for accidentally making him super angry. None of this was even supposed to happen in the first place.

"I'm sorry," he breathed lightly, but then Dick's hand was on his face and turning him to look him in the eyes.

His still very blue eyes. That were suddenly very close.

"It's okay," he replied, quietly and with a small smile, and Wally could hear his own heart pounding in his chest. It sounded so loud that he was almost positive Dick could hear it, especially as he leaned in because Wally's eardrums felt like they were about to burst at the noise and his palms were suddenly really sweaty and he had no idea what to do with himself until Dick was kissing him.

Relief that Wally hadn't known he would feel exploded in his chest, replacing the weight of the dread and guilt and embarrassment, and he sighed lightly against Dick's lips. He hadn't realized how much he had been wanting this-- needing this. The build-up had been way too long and it only made the satisfaction of having Dick's lips on his own all the more sweeter. He had wanted this so much, and by the way Dick practically melted against him as Wally kissed back, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair on the nape of his neck, he had wanted it too. 

Kissing Dick didn't feel as foreign as he had thought it would-- it felt comfortable and almost familiar as if it had been something they had been doing for years. But Wally knew this was  _so much better_  than anything they'd been doing for years. Dick made a subtle groan when Wally moved his tongue a certain way, and the noise spurred him to pull Dick closer, the slightly awkward angle of sitting beside each other doing absolutely nothing to help Wally get the contact that he craved. Dick's hand slid from its spot on the side of his neck and down to his bicep, where it held on. His hands seemed to be leaving burning trails on Wally's skin, the pleasure of their touch making him feel like he was being set on fire.

Then there was another growl noise, and it took Dick pulling away to realize that neither of their mouths had made the sound. Dick's eyebrows were furrowed and his lips were tinged red, and Wally wondered if he had ever seen a cuter sight in his life.

But then Dick spoke, his voice hoarse. "Was that your stomach?" he asked, laughing slightly.

Wally blinked, not really processing until he realized that the growl sound  _had_  been his stomach. _Wow, embarrassing_ , he thought, but didn't have it in him to actually feel the embarrassment. He was too focused on Dick. On needing to kiss Dick again.

"Uh," he started distractedly, "Maybe." 

Dick laughed again, his eyes crinkling, and Wally wanted to kiss him  _so badly_. "Do you wanna get some breakfast?" he questioned, his voice teasing.

But Wally didn't feel like eating (which was a first). "In a minute," he mumbled, before reconnecting his lips with a laughing Dick's. 

Heat bloomed in his gut, spreading all the way through him and to the tips of his toes, and he really didn't think he'd ever be able to stop kissing Dick after this. After Dick's lips parted for him so nicely, as his tongue slid against his own, as he caught Wally's bottom lip between his teeth and gently tugged. He was out of breath, but he'd be okay with never breathing again if it meant he didn't have to stop kissing Dick. 

He'd definitely never kissed anyone like this before. How had they not done this sooner?

And then there was that annoying sound again, and Dick laughed and had to pull away. 

"Okay, we're getting breakfast," he said, getting to his feet and pulling Wally up with him by his hand.

Wally silently cursed his stomach as he stumbled after Dick. "Fine," he said sadly, pouting.

Dick let go of his hand as they exited the room, giving him a narrowed-eye look over his shoulder. "Who are you?" he asked. "What have you done with Wally 'eating food is the best thing in the entire world, I could eat pizza until I die' West?" Wally was only about 60% sure he hadn't said that before, but who knew. He said a lot of shit like that about food.

But "I just found something I like to do a lot more than eating," he explained easily, and Dick immediately snapped his head back forward.

"Stop," he mumbled, but the smile was evident in his voice.

"Wow, who knew you got flustered so easily?" he teased, and Dick punched him the shoulder. But not before Wally got a look at the clear blush rising on his cheeks. "This is definitely something I'm gonna have fun with," he laughed because maybe making Dick blush was another one of his new favorite things.

"God, you're the worst, I regret everything," Dick groaned, stopping before they entered the kitchen.

Wally pulled him close again and kissed him lightly on the forehead. "You love me," he joked lightly.

"Yeah," Dick replied, rolling his eyes. "For whatever reason." He continued into the kitchen.

"Wait," Wally said, registering his words. "Wait, you  _DO_?" 

And Dick just laughed. The  _nerve_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feedback is appreciated but pls note: i already know i'm a mess and so is my writing


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